


After The Last

by sunflowersandsunshining



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Celebrations, Cuddling, Cute, Established Relationship, F/M, Happy Ending, Romantic Fluff, a little angsty at one point, lots of cute shit, lots of fluff, romantic, spoilers for the ending scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-10 20:53:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12920034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflowersandsunshining/pseuds/sunflowersandsunshining
Summary: It’s over. The Inquisitor and Cullen celebrate.





	After The Last

The Inquisition was exhausting. Nobody ever said it would be easy, but for months, I had fought against all manner of monsters: darkspawn, Venatori, dragons, all sorts of demons… but now it was over. And I was tired.

The celebrations were wonderful. Everyone gathered into a single room and, somehow, only one fight broke out between Sera and Vivienne, so I already considered the night a success.

Cullen had approached me at one point, surprisingly briefly, and slightly sheepishly, as always. “I won’t steal too much of your attention,” he had said; as if he ever cared about doing that before.

I mingled with stuck-up nobles and my fellow Inquisition members for what felt like hours. Mercifully, someone eventually noted that I looked tired and I gladly took the excuse to quietly retreat to my quarters, despite Varric’s loud protesting.

As I approached the door leading to my quarters, evidently exhausted, I was stopped by a familiar voice:

“You managed to slip away,” Cullen called from behind me. “I thought I might claim more of your attention after all.” His voice had softened into that tone that he reserved for only me.

“I’d love that,” I replied, beaming towards him.

He laughed. “Good.”

I opened the door and motioned for him to go in first. He obliged, ignoring the snickering coming from the various nobles in the hall. I followed suit, closing the door as quietly as possible, and started up the stairs.

Before I could take more than a single step, Cullen grabbed me from behind and swept me into his arms, bridal style.

“W-what are you doing?” I giggled.

“I know you must be tired,” he chuckled, peppering my cheeks with small kisses. I really am blessed by Andraste if this is what the future held for me, I thought. 

I clung to him for dear life, although I’m not sure what I was really afraid of. He noticed my nails digging into his shoulder and laughed slightly again. “It’s okay, I’ve got you,” he whispered. “I’m not that weak.”

I sighed a small breath of relief and nuzzled into his chest. As he opened the door leading to my quarters, I felt him kiss my head gently and I popped my head out to peck his cheek back, which spread a blush across his face. 

Even if the world ended the next day, I knew with absolute certainty that I would die happy, if only because of this moment.

We entered my quarters and he gently placed me on my feet. We were both giggling like school children; Cullen took my hand and led me to the middle of the room, careful to guide us away from any large pieces of furniture. 

“What are we doing?” I said with a small laugh.

“I know I’m a terrible dance partner,” he said softly. “But I thought I might try to redeem myself.”

My face lit up. I never admitted it, but that dance at Halamshiral was one of my favorite memories with Cullen. He wasn’t even that bad at dancing. He only stepped on my feet twice.

“Cullen, you’re amazing, you know that?” I whispered, putting my arms around his neck. 

He smirked slightly, returning the gesture by resting his hands around my waist. “I think I should be the one saying that to you,” he replied. “You’re the one who just saved the world.”

I snorted loudly. “You’re acting like I did it alone. You commanded the army.” I retorted.

He laughed and I moved closer to him, laying my head on his shoulder. “I love you.” he whispered happily into my ear. 

“I love you too,” I whispered back, completely melting into his body out of pure love and exhaustion. He chuckled and began leading our dance.

The night was starting to calm down, with many of the visitors returning to their quarters for the evening. For a while, we danced slowly to the gentle music that streamed in from the dimming celebrations below us, oblivious to the outside world. 

I wanted to stay like that forever. And for a while, it seemed like we might; Cullen seemed perfectly content, too, and neither of us felt the need to ever do anything other than stay in eachother’s arms.

After what felt like a lifetime, he whispered to me. “Love,” he pulled away to look into my eyes. “Are you tired?” 

“Maybe.” I mumbled, halfheartedly attempting to preserve this moment, despite my feet loudly protesting against that idea.

He smiled and picked me up again, carried me over to the couch, and gently set me down. I mumbled something about not being tired, _really_ , to which he responded with sitting down and pulling me into his lap. The fireplace had already been lit and burned steadily, and combined with the heat of Cullen’s body, Skyhold had never been warmer.

I sank into his body, exhausted but desperately trying to remain awake. He wrapped his arms around my torso, further encouraging me to sleep.

I laughed softly, but not for any particular reason; he laughed, too, and we both knew that it was finally over. No more demons; no more fighting; we had our entire lives in front of us, then, but more importantly, we had eachother. 

I went quiet for a moment and took his hand, squeezing it gently to assure him that I hadn’t fallen asleep.

“I’m so proud of you, my love.” He whispered, kissing my forehead tenderly. 

“Oh, you,” I muttered affectionately, completely resigning myself to him. I inched closer to him; I wanted nothing more than to be with him.

He chuckled. “I’m so, so proud of you.” He repeated. “I know how… difficult it’s been for you. But you did it. You beat Corypheus. You did it.” 

“It was hard for all of us,” I said sleepily. “I’m just glad we made it out alive.” I stretched my legs across the couch and laid my head into his lap. I stared up at his face, which was now observing the night sky outside, oblivious to my intense gaze. 

I loved him more than I thought was possible. Every breath, every movement, every word he spoke made me happy, a happiness I thought was only reserved for the most beautiful of moments; instead, now, every second was beautiful, and I never wanted it to end. 

I grinned, baffled by how lucky I had to be to have courted such an amazing person. 

Eventually he noticed my goofy expression and simpered. “Maker’s breath, you’re beautiful.” he breathed.

My grin melted into girlish giggling. “S-stop that!” I managed to say in between laughs. He grinned back at me while I attempted to compose myself. 

“How did I get so lucky?” he murmured and looked into my eyes, cupping my face in his hands.

I don’t know if it was my exhaustion, love, or both, but I started crying right then and there. 

Cullen’s eyes widened and the smile washed off of his face. “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice starting to sound crestfallen. 

“I’m sorry, did I do something…” his voice suddenly was so hoarse it sounded like it was about to crumble and fade away from the fear of disappointing me.

“I’m just so lucky,” I sobbed, cutting him off. “I’m so happy, Cullen. We did it. Together.” 

“O-oh.” he muttered, and I saw his eyes start to tear up. 

I sat up and hugged him tightly; he immediately hugged me back protectively. We sat there, crying joyously into each other's arms, because for the first time, we had a definite future together. We could retire, go live out in the country, and forget about all the pain of the past without any Inquisition to worry about.

We remained like that for a long time. I sobbed quietly against his chest, not wanting to ever let him go. 

“Thank you,” I wept. “Thank you for being here.” 

He pulled me closer with one arm and stroked my hair softly with his free hand. His breathing was fast, still seeming a little concerned, but he was slowly calming down. I breathed deeply, noticing how sweet he smelled; earthy, like an evening walk in the Emerald Graves during the summer. 

“It’s odd,” he whispered after a few minutes of silence. “I’ve never had so many choices for what to do with my life before. It’s… overwhelming.”

I pulled away to look into his eyes, which were still shining with tears. “Whatever happens, I want to stay by your side.” I replied, drowsiness seeping into my voice.

“And I, yours.” he smiled back at me.

He then slowly stood up and I gazed at him, confused and tired. He chuckled at my bewilderment and bent down, picked me up again, and this time carried me over to the center of the room and gently placed me on the bed, carefully sliding next to me. 

“Your shoes, take off your shoes…” I mumbled sleepily and threw my arms around his waist, finally succumbing to the fatigue that had been building within me since the Conclave.

He laughed softly and pulled me close. “I love you so much,” he whispered, kissing my forehead gently. I vaguely remember trying to say something back before I completely passed out. 

Flashes of images filled my mind as I dreamt that night. A man and a woman, hand in hand in a garden filled with roses; a couple dancing as they made breakfast together; soft, sheepish touches under the dinner table. 

_Soon,_ I thought. 

The next morning, I woke up with my head on Cullen’s chest and his arm around my shoulder. The bulky pieces of his armor had been carefully removed, which, thankfully, included his shoes, leaving him in a casual outfit I rarely ever saw him in. 

I stared up at his face, which currently was fixated on the glowing orange and pink of the dawn outside. His hair was sticking up all over his head, while his eyes were bright with a sort of airiness in them I hadn’t seen since our first kiss on the battlements all that time ago.

“Sleep well?” he asked me gently. I cupped his face and kissed him tenderly; he returned the favor, pulling me in closer and smiling against my lips. He felt soft, sweet, but protective; as if to say, _I won’t let anyone hurt you,_ to which I responded, _I know._

I broke the kiss. “I slept great,” I replied, grinning.

He laughed, and I rolled out of bed and walked out to the balcony overlooking the mountains near Skyhold. He followed closely behind me.

The dawn was breathtaking. Long, string-like clouds reflected breathtaking shades of pink, orange, and red across the sky, resembling a painting from the great halls of Halamshiral. 

It was the second most beautiful thing I had ever seen, eclipsed only by the man beside me. I sighed happily, and he wrapped his arms around me as we bathed in the future we had created together.

“A lot is going to change,” Cullen sighed from behind me. “Yet I don’t care about anything other than you being alive.” 

I laughed slightly. “I love you, Cullen.” 

He kissed my cheek tenderly. “I love you, too.” he whispered back. 

And in that moment, I knew it was all worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> hey y'all! i'm still very new to this whole fanfiction stuff so any feedback would make my day, thank you all so much!


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